We remember our mothers and grandmothers concocting healing potions from herbs and spices to combat fevers or soothe irritations in the throat. Some conventional medicines may include these natural ingredients but do we need garlic pearls, bittergourd tablets or honey-and-lemon drops when we can pop in a garlic pod or boil and blend the gourd or mix honey and lemon juice?
With debilitating side-effects of conventional medicine being known, more and more people (including doctors) are now subscribing to natural remedies. Ayurveda and the not-so-ancient science of homoeopathy, however, have always advocated a natural healing process.
Natural remedy
Based on this, Dubai-based homoeopath Dr Javed Hingora of Dubai Homeopathy Health Centre started using the STEPS (Specialised Therapies for Enhancement of Personal State) programme to cure and prevent diseases and conditions through a “natural holistic way rather than using drugs or surgery”.
“The aim of the programme is to prevent problems rather than managing symptoms,” Hingora said. “The idea is to prevent the problem from reaching serious conditions. The programme is based on a combination of homoeopathy, yoga, dietary consultations, counselling and change of lifestyle — in other words, common-sense healing.”
Hingora says the condition or disease one is suffering from may not have its centre in that particular area.
“We try to find the root of the problem, which may not necessarily be in the part of the body suffering. For example, if a person is suffering heartburn, we don’t check just the stomach but why the stomach is reacting thus. Most probably, it’s because the person has had something that has become acidic. Our aim is to rectify the cause rather than prescribe antacids.”
Hingora says Steps has no time limit, though it can start from an eight-week programme.
“It is a way of life, not a time-bound programme. It’s a life-transforming experience for most people. It teaches you to be sensible and balanced. If you need to lose weight, do it in a natural way. Avoid companies that tell you to lose 3kg in two days. There’s no way you can lose fat in two days. They are just evaporating the water from your body. You may not lose weight but you will lose inches, that is, convert fat into muscle. The more muscle you build, the faster you will lose weight.”
Helpful ramifications
But the programme is not just for weight loss. It helps relieve pain, cure diseases, women’s problems and emotional and mental wellbeing. “STEPS also treats abnormal temperament — anger, jealousy, depression, insecurity, etc. Though the most common problem in the UAE is weight management, most of these are secondary problems to obesity — blood pressure, joint pain, diabetes and emotional and hormonal imbalance. We try to provide a permanent cure by making them lose weight.”
Sometimes even natural therapies don’t work...
“Yes, in lots of cases, it won’t work because results are dependant on how much healing ability a person has. For example, if you try a therapy on a terminal Aids patient, however much you try, there will be no success because the body has no ‘healability’. But miracles do happen, where a person’s will is strong enough to turn the tables.”
How do you determine a person’s “healability”?
“We use the Healthometer, a concept where we take into account a person’s entire being, starting from his/her family history, genetic history, diseases and conditions that tend to run in the family. We run all relevant tests and investigations. Then the emotional quotient of the person, how he/she is functioning in society, the social and environmental factors affecting him, what are the factors causing stress, what the support factors are. Then we check their lifestyle — down to what kind of mattress they are using. All this helps us analyse how strong a person is. And how long his/her treatment should last”.
But homoeopathy is often frowned upon by those conforming to traditional medicine. But Hingora claims it is popular with UAE residents, both expatriates and Arabs.
“You need to resolve from the inside rather than just on the surface. We use homoeopathy for internal reasons. Everything is with external support.
“For example, eating is a process that happens from outside but is processed internally. So we use homoeopathy as an internal support system to direct it in the right way. Right food, right exercise, right motion, right environment and right medicine is what we advocate. And it is something natural that doesn’t go against the natural functioning of the body.”
Who is it for?
STEPS is tailor-made for each individual. However, it is safe for children too. It claims to boost health, immunity, energy, sleep, motivation, self-esteem and general levels of positivity. The primary medicinal therapy used here is homoeopathy. It does not create resistance but uses extremely small doses of natural substances to stimulate the body’s innate healing powers. The remedies are non-toxic and non-addictive. It is used with supportive therapies such as Metabolism Enhancing Nutrition Programme, Osteopathy, Dorn Therapy, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Psychological Couselling, Parent Education, Special Education and Yoga.
Conditions the programme deals with
- - Treatment of distressing conditions
- - Stress-related problems
- - Emotional disturbances
- - Difficulties with confidence and self-esteem
- - Psychosomatic problems (phobias, panic, IBS, etc)
- - Food and environmental allergies
- - Chronic degenerative diseases (arthritis, MS, ulcerative colitis, high blood pressure, diabetes, etc)
- - Sleep disorders
- - Lack of energy
- - Hormonal imbalances
- - Weight management
- - Injuries and chronic pains
- - Growth and developmental disorders of children
- - Behavioural problems of children and adolescents
- - Academic performance, ADD, ADHD and autism
Manjari Saxena is trying out Steps for weight loss. Read about her experience weekly from May 8
